Walk around most neighborhoods and you mainly see common homes with common asphalt shingle roofs. The traditional shingle roof is a pretty good looking roof, but the homes that really stand out above the rest are the homes with tile roofs. The home with the tile roof has more texture and more character. It shines among common homes as a much more majestic structure typically not built for the common man or woman. The tile roof is extremely appealing with visual depth and architectural shadow lines that scream “I am complicated, deep, beautiful and expensive”. A properly installed tile roof is not only beautiful, it is also an asset worth taking care of. With proper care and intelligent management, a tile roof can last many decades, but if the owner makes just one wrong decision in hiring, years of aggravating trouble can follow culminating in the loss of the valuable roof asset and the loss of home value too.
Tile Roof Benefits
Yes the tile roof is beautiful, and in some ways it is very strong. Later in the article we will discuss some weaknesses of the tile roof and how to avoid becoming vulnerable to such weaknesses. One of the benefits of the tile roof and the slate roof are that the surface is very hard and durable. There are clay tiles, terra-cotta tiles, modern manufactured tiles like those made by Ludowici, and slate. One of the characteristics these types of roof all have in common is that they all have a fairly hard cement like surface that can be valuable in a hail storm. These sloped roof materials are meant to be strong, hard and long lasting. Additionally, they are typically unaffected by the harmful effects of the sun's rays also known as UV rays. The fact that tile roofs are somewhat impervious to the harmful effects of the sun, makes them more common in southern areas where asphalt shingles have a hard time. Tile roofs are meant to be majestic and long lasting and they will last many decades even in climates near the equator with the most direct sunlight,
Spanish Tile or Barrel Tile Roofing and Closures
The most common color of tile roofs is a red clay color also known as terra-cotta tile and a very common style of tile is the Barrel Roof Tile or curved Spanish Tile. These tiles form an upper concave portion to a lower convex portion. They get installed in rows but the lower portion of their shape forms lines or valleys up and down the roof. The lower portion of each tile forms parallel tile valleys and the water runs down those valleys flowing over the laps from tile to tile. The fasteners holding each tile are concealed beneath the next tile installed up the roof so the rain water never hits a fastener hole as the water flows down the roof over the laps from each tile. These barrel tiles are beautiful and dimensional, but due to the round shape, the bottom most course of these tile roofs requires a closure piece to keep from leaking. Obviously, these tiles are in the shape of a barrel, therefore the lower most course has no other tile to lap over, so it is like the mouth of the barrel is wide open at the bottom edge of the roof. Due to the shape of the tile, the bottom course is vulnerable and must receive closure to keep water from blowing in or backing up. Closure of the bottom course of tile is often done with flashing, cement, or foam, but it is a particular weak spot of the barrel tile roof system, therefore if you own a tile roof you really want to keep your gutters from clogging, backing up and leaking into the building through these vulnerable openings. You can solve your gutter clogging and gutter backup issues by getting a tile roof gutter guard: but be careful, do not get just any gutter guard. To see a very easy way of solving tile roof gutter clogging, while doing no harm to your roof, check out GutterBrush. To read an actual case study of a gutter guard for a slate roof and a custom historic copper, gutter click here.
Tile Roof Weakness
Yes tile roofs, barrel tiles, terra cotta tiles and slates consist of very strong and hard material, however it is not always as strong as you might think. If a person were to step on a tile and the tile has solid roofing and decking beneath, then the tile will not break under shear crushing force. However if the tile or slate does not have solid material underneath, then stepping on the tile will crack or break the tile. A well installed slate roof or tile roof needs to be installed by a skilled craftsman who performs custom shimming of every individual tile to assure that the tile does not "rock" on 3 corners. The tile needs solid material under the center and all 4 corners of the tile, otherwise if you step on the corner of the tile that has space beneath, the tile will break. The tile roofer uses special red cement and chips of tile to assure that there is no “rocking” of the tile and that the product is secure under foot. Using the wrong cement can cause cement melting and visible bleeding down the roof. The biggest weakness for tile roofs is the human or the unskilled roofer. Most tile roofs will last for many years as long as some unskilled roofer, gutter cleaning company, pressure washing company or other do-gooder does not come along and break them. Walking on tile roofs and slate roofs in an improper way can do thousands of dollars of damage and even ruin the roof forever so that it is beyond repair. Gutter Guard companies often will come to a tile roof and attempt to slide a metal gutter guard under the lower courses of tiles, cracking them and causing lots of damage and leaks. If you have a tile roof, it is a valuable asset and must be treated that way, so avoid allowing anyone to even touch the tile, unless they are a true tile roof expert that understands tile roof installation, repairs, and how to avoid damaging it.
Avoid gutter guards that touch the roof
Gutter guards and screens that intersect with the roof, have a possibility of causing harm in a few different ways. People with tile roofs and slate roofs want to keep their gutters from clogging and backing up. By keeping the gutter from clogging, they can avoid damage that occurs when water pours over the edge: like rotted wood trim, rotted window sills, insect damage, termites, foundation damage and landscape wash out. Avoiding gutter clogs also helps avoid gutters backing up and overflowing into the building too, which can be damaging to the interior and expensive. The tile roof has great value, so avoid the risk associated with anyone who suggests sliding a gutter guard or gutter screen under the tiles. If you have a tile roof, you will want to avoid most common gutter protection devices because they intersect or attach to the roof. Sliding them under the tile can pry the tile upward and crack the tile. Not to mention, when you install a gutter screen or gutter cover attaching to the lower courses of any roof, you are creating a shelf that makes those lower courses of tile susceptible to rain backup in high wind and susceptible to ice back-up in northern climates.
Tile Roof Gutter Guard
It is a good idea to protect your gutter and downspouts from clogging, just avoid the risks associated with allowing a non-skilled person to work on your roof; and also avoid gutter guards that intersect with the roof. GutterBrush is a tile roof gutter guard that is very fast and easy to install and better yet, it does not intersect with the roof or even touch the roof. The bristles are flexible so they are not affected or impeded by any especially low tiles at the drip edge. The flexible bristles are self-fitting and delicate, allowing the brush gutter guard to be easily installed into the gutter surrounding the tile roof, even if there are a few low tiles in the way. Just fill the gutter with three foot lengths of Gutter brush sliding them one after the other into the gutter until you have filled the entire gutter. Fill the entire Gutter with GutterBrush tile roof gutter guard, and leave it in place for year round clog protection. Gutterbrush solves the tile roof gutter clogging issues, and the installation process is very easy while being perfectly delicate with your tile or slate roof. The installer can access the gutters from a ladder, install GutterBrush, and never even touch or walk on the tile roof. GutterBrush is a gutter guard for tile roofs or any roof because it does not intersect or even touch the roof. Check out GutterBrush easy installation.
Gutter Guard for Tile Roofs and Custom Gutters
Very often when a home or commercial building has been outfitted with a tile roof, no expenses are spared, which is why it is common to see custom gutters associated with tile or slate roofing. Custom gutters can be of common shapes or unusual shapes, but one thing common with custom gutters is that nobody should fasten into them because fasteners leave holes that can leak. GutterBrush has flexible bristles, requires no fasteners and it is available in 5 different sizes or brush gutter guard diameters to fit any gutter. So if your tile roof has a custom gutter, there is a GutterBrush size that can keep it from clogging and overflowing. Click here to see all sizes for your tile roof gutter guard. If you have questions, GutterBrush has technical experience on hand at 888-397-9433. The technical department at GutterBrush is staffed with over 20 years of hands on roof and tile experience, so feel free to call or email with your tile roof gutter guard question or gutter dilemma and know that the reply is coming from an experienced professional who understands and has actually installed tile and slate. Often, customers will snap photos and text them over in order to gain the most from the GutterBrush experience and consultation. GutterBrush wants to help with your gutter guard for tile roofs. Visit www.gutterbrush.com to learn more about brush gutter guards and Gutterbrush, which is a family run business and has been made in the USA since 2004. Thanks to GutterBrush, these simple but effective gutter guards make it incredibly easy to solve gutter clogging problems; and are now, after 19 years, a widely accepted method of of doing so.
( 888-397-9433, info@Gutterbrush.com)